Senior Director of Development - IMEA Based out of Dubai

Job Description

IHG is one of the world?s leading hotel companies, promising to provide True Hospitality for everyone; making you feel welcome and cared for, recognized and respected, wherever you are in the world. Strong future plans and recent successes, especially across the luxury space is what has made us stand out from the crowd. Join us and not only can you benefit from the world of variety and opportunity, you can also look forward to being part of a company that will appreciate you for simply being you. At IHG we celeBrandte our differences and we believe everyone has something unique to bring to each team. Applications are invited from individuals with experience in deal sourcing, evaluating, pitching, negotiating and closing investment deals in the MEA market. Whilst it is unlikely that you personally have worked on property, should your investment exposure include the hospitality industry that would be a distinct advantage.Due to the profile of our IMEA Development team we are inviting new applications from Developement Directors with 6 years + in the hotel industry to support our newly appointed VP of Development with the focus and success of the realtively newly formed Development team.We are embarking on an ambitious growth plan of developing the right hotels, in the right location, with the right owner, under the right Brandnd. Due to our focus on the MEA region, we have an opportunity to add a new Director of Development to our Development team. Partnering closely with operational teams you will support the MEA regional teams to leverage relationships in market. You will have direct responsibility for the Development of IHG?s Brandnds in MEA in line with the strategic goals. With a key focus on the mainstream Brandnds - Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and voco. You will source and screen new projects and potential new investors, analyse potential and suitability for our Brandnds and negotiate management contracts. You will be working together with the Dubai based development team with existing responsibilities and relationships in MEA, to ensure there is no duplication in account management.With responsibility for owning and implementing the development strategy, supporting Directors and Senior Managers in the team and the rollout of IHG?s Brandnds across MEA, the key responsibilities will include:

• Identifying potential new investors not currently working with IHG and generate new leads for development.
• Identifying new potentially suitable macro and micro locations for Brandnd roll-out in the territory and suitable reBrandnding opportunities.
• Building and maintaining an effective network of professional contacts such as real estate brokers, consultants, development and construction partners, financial institutions, public authorities and investors, outside the existing relationships.
• Engaging the network of potential new owners / investors through regular meetings and events.
• Identifying new leads and making presentations to ensure IHG is presented in a credible and professional manner.
• Putting together effective proposals and responses to RFP?s and supporting high value investors with site-finding and evaluations.
• Prioritizing deals appropriately and recognizing the investor?s ability to deliver and the deal?s alignment with the targets and strategic goals.
• Negotiating and agreeing deal terms with relevant parties and negotiating all relevant franchise and management contract deals for IHG with minimal support from IHG legal team. ? Prepare business case for every deal to present to VPD/MD which will be presented to the Regional Approval Committee.
• Co-ordinating and managing internal resources and external partners to create a structured and reliable project flow from lead to closing.
• Managing contract renewals for both management, as and when assigned by VPD including monitoring and tracking when the contracts are due to expire and proactively taking appropriate action in advance of the expiry date.
• Maintaining an up to date knowledge of the local hotel and real estate market, industry trends, supply and demand and hotel performance.

• 6+ years progressive expertise in hotel development in country, real estate finance, investment banking, acquisitions, feasibility.
• Or comparable seniority level role in a company within the Development ecosystem (consultant, broker, banks, investor) with hands-on experience with complex deals
• In-depth knowledge of the MEA market along with fluent Arabic
• Proficiency in development, feasibility and deal valuation in real estate environment
• Commercial acumen, deal-savviness to strike best possible commercial balance allowing to close the deal
• Strong financial acumen and understanding of capital markets, investor profiles and practices, transactions and financing arrangements
• Highly effective negotiation skills
• Strong project management skills across multi-functional teams (from lead to closing/implementation)
• The agility to adapt to a constantly changing landscape.

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